Y'all can blame the latest EAH episode and a kiss of winter for encouraging me with this.

I will not apologize for art.

Inner beauty was something Cedar prided herself upon. It didn't really matter whether a few splinters stuck out, or if she was rough and bumpy in a few places. That wasn't her. That wasn't the real Cedar.

The real Cedar liked art and was a good friend and was honest and appreciated that she was smart, independent and powerful in her own way. She didn't need a mirror to tell her that. All she needed was her own brain - and maybe a few kind words from her peers now and then.

But there was still a part of her that cared about the way she looked.

Cared about her hair (the way it was always tangled and smelt like wood) and her eyes (dull brown, what a boring colour) and her nose (was it too small or too big?) and she just wished she didn't think these thoughts or feel this way.

It's just ...

when she looked at other girls, the real princesses, she felt so inferior. She wasn't real, she was just a hunk of wood carved to look this way. The outside wasn't her. It was a false portrait.

However, Apple seemed so obsessed with her looks.

"You have beautiful hair," Apple murmured, raising her head slightly off the pillow they shared. She curled a lock around her perfectly manicured finger and teased it out, before releasing it. She raised her body off the bed slightly and laid on top of Cedar. She buried her head in the brown curls and inhaled, breathing out with a smile.

"You smell like the forest," she said, her blue eyes sparkling and wide as she smiled at Cedar.

Cedar was struck with how beautiful Apple was. It seemed like because of all the students flocking around her, her beauty had become something that was accepted and morphed into something fake.

It wasn't that.

Apple's fair skin was clear, her golden curls shone in the sun and her blue eyes looked as soft and welcoming as the sky in daytime. Her looks were so simple, yet they almost sparked something in you - an urge to be better, be worthy of viewing something so simple yet gorgeous.

"What's wrong?" Apple asked, sensing her discomfort.

Cedar sighed and looped her arms around Apple's body.

"All this ... You're real. And I'm not. I'm like a projection - what's on the outside, it just isn't me," Cedar said. "Everything about you is real. Everything about me is a lie."

"Sweetie," Apple cupped Cedar's cheek with her hand. Her smooth pale skin contrasted with Cedar's rough and bumpy wood, but it was a combination that looked so good together. They were like milk chocolate and white chocolate, a delicious blend of sugar and candy that was irresistible.

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit. When you look in the mirror, you may see what's inside, and be smart and kind and loyal, but you can look on the outside too. It's not illegal." Apple giggled. "If you feel good, you look good. You are beautiful," she whispered the last part in Cedar's ear and kissed the lobe gently.

"I just don't see the point," Cedar shrugged.

"I like to appreciate beauty," Apple grinned, stealing a kiss.

Stupid pointless drabble XD I'll need to write something longer for Wooden Apple soon.

In the meantime, R&R and enjoy!